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Pentagon Monitoring Video Posting By Soldiers

July 30, 2006

Wired people and social networks have changed everything, even war. The BBC is reporting that the Pentagon is keeping a close eye on the videos that soldiers post to online video-sharing sites like YouTube and MySpace.

From the article —

The Pentagon is keeping a close eye on what its troops post online, with special attention being paid to videos that show the aftermath of combat.

There is no specific policy that bans troops from posting graphic material.

But troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are hearing the message that they should consider carefully what videos they upload to the web.

Sites such as YouTube and Ogrish.com have hundreds or thousands of clips from soldiers, some set to rock music.

At their most graphic, they show the aftermath of suicide bombings and gunfights between coalition forces and insurgents.

Many include troops using foul language.

One soldier who served in Iraq in 2005 told the BBC there was “a tight watch” being kept on video and pictures posted to MySpace, with civilian contractors monitoring the internet on behalf of the Pentagon.